Shortly after a judge's ruling killed a recall effort against him, the Pondera County sheriff reversed his decision to enter a no-contest plea to assaulting his son.

Sheriff Carl Suta was scheduled to enter his plea on Friday, but on Dec. 15 withdrew from the plea deal with state prosecutors. A day earlier, a district court judge decided a recall petition to remove Suta from office was insufficient to go to a ballot vote.

"(Suta) has reconsidered and does not intend to plead no-contest to the charges currently pending against him," Shari Lennon wrote in her withdrawal notice to the court.

Lennon was not available for comment on Wednesday. The notice indicates state attorneys have been made aware of and do not object to Suta withdrawing from the plea agreement.

The domestic abuse case was investigated and filed in July by prosecutors with the Montana Attorney General's office. According to records, Suta and two of his children confirmed with investigators that Suta kicked his son while he was "curled up on the ground."

Investigators began looking into the matter in April.

The plea deal Suta withdrew from, filed in October, would have required him to complete 40 hours of counseling with a focus on violence and controlling behavior, to have no contact with his son unless on his son's terms and to follow any recommendations made by the Montana Department of Family Services. Additionally, he would have been prohibited from carrying a firearm.

The hearing set for Friday has been canceled. A new hearing could be scheduled to take place as soon as next week.